Tuition Fees

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects on higher education participation among the poorest students of increases in tuition fees.

David Willetts: There are more students participating in HE than ever before, with record numbers from all backgrounds. This indicates that students are not deterred from participation, providing that there is a suitable offer of financial support in place to help those who need it.
	The coalition agreement makes clear that increasing social mobility and attracting more students from disadvantaged backgrounds are key criteria for our response to Lord Browne's recommendations on Higher Education Funding and Student Finance.

Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effect on individuals of implementation of the draft Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

Edward Davey: The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) does not intend to create new intellectual property rights, laws or criminal offences in the UK or EU. As such, the implementation of ACTA should not directly impact individuals in the UK.

Business: Government Assistance

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to reduce the administrative requirements on applicants of the enterprise finance guarantee scheme; and what steps he plans to take to improve the availability of seed capital for start-up businesses.

Mark Prisk: The time taken to process an application for an EFG backed loan is mainly determined by the internal processes of the lender concerned. There are relatively few additional administrative requirements for EFG compared with a normal loan. These primarily relate to ensuring EFG is used appropriately and that the relevant EU regulations on state aid are adhered to. Lenders have access to a web portal to determine EFG eligibility and approval of the loan guarantee. Overall, lenders confirm that an EFG loan application only takes two to three days longer than it might take to process a commercial loan.
	Nonetheless, as speed and certainty is important for EFG lending decisions, this Department has worked with each of the main lenders, who account for over 97% of the SME lending market, to introduce a processing target of 20 working days for all major lenders participating in the EFG to provide certainty for businesses on how long their applications will take to process.
	Seed capital in the form of equity is vital for start up businesses where debt finance may not be the most appropriate form of finance and equity may be a more realistic proposition. Early stage venture capital is available for businesses with high growth potential and this Department provides a range of publicly supported funds to provide early stage finance, focused on the 'equity gap'.
	The BIS Enterprise Capital Fund programme currently comprises nine venture capital funds with a Government commitment of more than £156 million for these funds. The emergency Budget announced an additional Enterprise Capital Fund of up to £37.5 million. Details can be found at the Capital for Enterprise Ltd website:
	www.capitalforenterprise.gov.uk
	These venture capital funds are suitable for high growth potential investments. These funds are complemented by a range of regionally commissioned funds including regional SME Venture Capital Loan Funds totalling around £550 million of commitments up to 2013. There are around 25 to 30 regional equity and loan funds currently (or imminently) active supporting seed, early stage and growth capital for SMEs, all underpinned by objectives to enhance regional business and economic performance along with broader social and regeneration outputs attached to European Reconstruction and Development Fund funding.

Export Credit Guarantees: Trinidad and Tobago

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Export Credits Guarantee Department has received an application in respect of the sale of offshore patrol vessels to Trinidad and Tobago; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: ECGD has no such current application.
	As reported in its annual review for 2007/08 ECGD did provide support that year for a contract awarded to VT Shipbuilding International Ltd for the supply of three offshore patrol vessels to the Ministry of National Security in Trinidad and Tobago.

Higher Education: Young People

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people normally resident in Redcar constituency entered  (a) higher education and  (b) university in each of the last 13 years.

David Willetts: The numbers of young (aged under 21) undergraduate entrants, from Redcar constituency, to UK higher education institutions (universities and higher education colleges) are shown in the table.
	Figures are taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record and are provided for the academic years to 1996/97 to 2008/09. Data for the 2009/10 academic year will become available from January 2011.
	The Department does not hold constituency-level data for students studying higher education courses at further education colleges.
	
		
			  Young( 1)  undergraduate entrants( 2 ) from Redcar constituency( 3) , UK higher education institutions( 4) , academic years 1996/97 to 2008/09 
			  Academic year  Number 
			 1996/97 285 
			 1997/98 315 
			 1998/99 275 
			 1999/2000 340 
			 2000/01 340 
			 2001/02 345 
			 2002/03 345 
			 2003/04 360 
			 2004/05 375 
			 2005/06 370 
			 2006/07 420 
			 2007/08 460 
			 2008/09 490 
			 (1) Young refers to entrants aged under 21.  (2) Covers entrants to both full-time and part-time courses.  (3) The table does not include entrants where the constituency of the student cannot be established due to missing or invalid postcode information.  (4) Excludes the Open university due to inconsistencies in their coding of entrants across the time series.   Notes: Figures are based on a HESA snapshot population as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record.

Industry: Women

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to increase the representation of women in non-traditional industries;
	(2)  what assistance other than that provided through the Women and Work Sector Skills Pathway Initiative his Department provides to help women employees progress in industries in which they are under-represented.

John Hayes: We believe that skills are essential to enabling people to find and keep jobs, progress in work, and contribute to stronger and more cohesive communities. BIS' commitment to ensuring equitable access for women to skills training, sustainable employment, and full engagement in non-traditional sectors enforces that view.
	BIS delivers a range of policies and programmes, other that the Women and Work Sector Pathways Initiative, that help deliver this vision. These include:
	An enhanced information, advice and guidance service for adults, offer high quality personalised information about a range of training and support;
	Providing employability skills to those with the greatest skills needs;
	Funding for the UK Resource Centre for Women (UKRC) in Science, Engineering and Technology, supporting the delivery of the strategy for Women in Science;
	STEM Ambassadors encouraging young people to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM);
	The National Apprenticeship Service works with Connexions, Next Steps, local authorities, Job Centre Plus and other key partners to increase the number and diversity of people starting apprenticeships and progressing to the next apprenticeship.
	We are working with the National Apprenticeship Service to explore new ways of encouraging more women into atypical careers through apprenticeships. Pilots have been designed to increase the ability to tackle the broader issues of under representations in apprenticeships, including gender segregation and access to Apprenticeships for individuals with a learning difficulty or disability. Equality issues will also be covered in the equalities impact assessment which will underpin our forthcoming skills strategy.

Unemployment: Graduates

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of people who have obtained a degree in the last five years who are  (a) unemployed and  (b) employed but earning a salary below the £15,000 student loan repayment threshold.

David Willetts: The information is not available.
	Information on the destinations of the 2004/05 cohort of higher education (HE) graduates was collected via the Longitudinal Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (Long DLHE) survey. Results from this were published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in 2009. No survey of the 2005/06 cohort was taken, though a cohort of students who graduated in 2006/07 will be surveyed in November this year. The results of this are due to be published in 2011.
	From the report, 2.9% of the UK domiciled full-time first degree graduates were assumed to be unemployed three-and-a-half years after graduating. Of those that were in full-time employment in the UK and declared a salary, 8.6% declared a salary which was below £15,000 per annum.

Allotments

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent progress he has made on encouraging local authorities to provide space for allotments.

Andrew Stunell: The provision of allotments is the responsibility of local authorities. Allotment legislation places a duty on local authorities (except for inner London boroughs) to provide allotments where they consider that there is a demand for them in their area.
	Government are supporting innovative approaches to making land available for community use, including food growing. Community landbanking and "meanwhile licences/leases" being developed by the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens and the Development Trusts Association respectively, could be tools that the community can use to get more access to land for a variety of green space uses.

Empty Dwelling Management Orders

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) interim and  (b) final empty dwelling management orders have been (i) applied for and (ii) made to date.

Andrew Stunell: To date, 43 applications for interim empty dwelling management orders have been made to the Residential Property Tribunal Service, of which 36 have been approved. Local authorities do not need any further approval to make final empty dwelling management orders and data is not collected on them.

Voluntary Organisations: Finance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department allocated to voluntary groups in Coventry in each year since 2005.

Andrew Stunell: The Department's records do not hold information about grant payments to the voluntary sector by geographical area so the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, as part of the new Government's transparency initiative, the Department has published grant spending data which can be found at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/spendinggrantdata0910

Government Olympic Executive

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what expenditure the Government Olympic Executive incurred on staff salaries in each of the last five years.

Hugh Robertson: In each of the last five years, the amount spent on staff salaries in the Government Olympic Executive (GOE) was:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 (1)1.091 
			 2006-07 2.765 
			 2007-08 4.669 
			 2008-09 6.951 
			 2009-10 8.418 
			 (1 )Part year. 
		
	
	The amount spent on salaries reflects the increase in the number of civil servants (full-time equivalents (FTEs)) working in the GOE, from approximately 30 FTEs in 2005-06 (not a full year) to 92.9 FTEs in 2009-10.
	From 2007-08 these figures have included two key senior staff who were appointed on fixed term contracts ending in 2012 and whose remuneration reflects their extensive experience and the unique challenge of delivering the Olympics to a fixed deadline. Details of their remuneration have been published in the departmental Annual Reports and Accounts for each year since.
	This planned increase in staffing (a) reflects the development of GOE's role during this period-including overseeing the entire Olympic project, integrating the work of multiple delivery bodies, driving out savings-some £700 million to date and keeping within the £9.3 billion public sector funding provision; (b) is a planned response to the expected growth in work to deliver the Government's commitments and guarantees, as 2012 approaches; and (c) is consistent with GOE's staffing and resource plan for 2008-09 to 2010-11, which was agreed early in 2008.

Government Olympic Executive

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much the Government Olympic Executive has paid in bonuses to its employees in each of the last five years.

Hugh Robertson: The Government Olympic Executive (GOE) makes non-consolidated performance payments to its employees for two purposes: (a) in year non-consolidated performance payments to reward outstanding contributions in particularly demanding tasks or situations; and (b) year end non-consolidated performance payments to reward highly successful performance over a whole year. In both cases they help drive high performance.
	Non-consolidated performance payments are an integral element of the reward package for staff, have to be re-earned each year and do not add to future pay bill costs (e.g. pensions).
	Details of both in-year and year end non-consolidated performance payments for GOE are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 4,200 
			 2006-07 21,341 
			 2007-08 72,791 
			 2008-09 141,793 
			 2009-10 213,916 
		
	
	From 2007-08, these figures have included two key senior staff in GOE, who were appointed on fixed term contracts ending in 2012 and whose remuneration reflects their extensive experience and the unique challenge of delivering the Olympics to a fixed deadline. Details of their remuneration have been published in the departmental Annual Reports and Accounts for each year since.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has made an estimate of the change in the level of carbon dioxide emissions from his Department since May 2010; and what steps he plans to take to meet his Department's target of reducing such emissions by 10 per cent. by May 2011.

Andrew Robathan: The 10% saving initiative is limited to the civil element of the Defence estate with a baseline of 62,799 tonnes of CO2, for 2009-10. The estimated emissions to the end of August are approximately 22,000 tonnes CO2. Noting that these figures include estimated data where accurate bills are not available, and that it covers the spring/summer months, the Ministry of Defence believes it is on course to meet the 10% reduction target.
	All MOD sites within the 10% reduction target have submitted plans to reduce emissions with general measures being considered such as: establishing core hours for heating/cooling offices; encouraging cleaning during office hours; regular walk round surveys; not heating above 19C or cooling below 24C; revising server room cooling temperatures; eliminating unnecessary internal/external lighting.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: North East

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  if he will estimate the likely monetary value of compensation claims made by construction companies consequent on the cancellation of the contracts under the Building Schools for the Future programme in  (a) North West Durham constituency and  (b) the North East;
	(2)  he will estimate the likely effect on the number of construction jobs in  (a) North West Durham constituency and  (b) the North East of the cancellation of the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Nick Gibb: Where there are contractual obligations on local authorities in respect of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme they will be honoured. Where no contract has been finalised and signed, or no firm agreement to build a further wave of schools where an agreement with a local education partnership is already in place, there will be no compensation payments to be made. We are not aware of any compensation claims having been made to date; therefore no estimate has been made of the monetary value of such claims made by construction companies consequent on the decisions over BSF in  (a) North West Durham constituency and  (b) the North East.
	The effects of ending the BSF programme on the construction industry were considered by the Secretary of State in coming to his decision although not specifically on the number of construction jobs in  (a) North West Durham constituency and  (b) the North East.

Departmental Empty Property

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the estimated monetary value is of each vacant  (a) building and  (b) parcel of land owned by his Department in each region.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education does not own any vacant property or land. It does have a number of vacant leasehold properties. However, there is no requirement for the Department to have these properties valued and so we do not hold the information required to respond to this request.

Schools: Libraries

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  whether he has provided guidance to  (a) local education authorities and  (b) head teachers on his Department's policy on the future of school libraries; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many local authorities with education departments have a school library service; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not provide guidance to local authorities and head teachers on school libraries and does not routinely collect information on school library services provided by local authorities.
	While the provision of a school library is not compulsory, a good school library is a valuable resource for pupils and teachers. We therefore welcome the new report from the Commission set up by the National Literacy Trust and Museums, Libraries and Archives "School Libraries: A Plan for Improvement" on the future role for school libraries and schools library services. The report includes recommendations to interested groups, in particular to local authorities and to head teachers.
	The Department agrees that good school libraries and school library services can make a positive contribution to children's literacy, and that schools are well placed to identify the contribution which school libraries can make to meet their educational needs.

Departmental Drinking Water

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on bottled water in each year since 2008.

Richard Benyon: It has been the policy of DEFRA and its executive agencies since March 2007 that bottled water will not be served at any meetings or lunches, tap water only will be supplied. No expenditure has been identified.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money his Department allocated to  (a) the Stabilisation Aid Fund,  (b) the Conflict Prevention Pool,  (c) the Discretionary Peacekeeping Fund,  (d) the BBC World Service, excluding the BBC World Service Trust,  (e) the BBC World Service Trust,  (f) the Special Reserve,  (g) the British Council and  (h) the Security and Intelligence Fund in each year since 2005.

Alistair Burt: holding answer 11 October 2010
	The information requested is as follows:
	 (a),  (b) and  (c): On 1 April 2009 the Conflict Prevention Pool and the Stabilisation Aid Fund were merged to form the Conflict Pool, which is managed tri-departmentally by the Department for International Development (DfID), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). At the same time, responsibility for discretionary peacekeeping costs moved from the Peacekeeping Budget (managed by the FCO) to the Conflict Pool.
	Funding for the Peacekeeping Budget and the Conflict Pool (and its predecessors) is provided for separately by the Treasury and does not come from departmental expenditure limits (DEL). As a result, the FCO does not usually contribute to these funds from its own departmental budget. However, in financial year 2009-10, the FCO contributed an additional £2 million to the Conflict Pool from its departmental budget to support stabilisation activities in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
	FCO spend through the Conflict Pool is listed in the Departmental Resource Accounts available on the FCO website and in the Library of the House.
	 (d) The following table shows the final FCO allocations (including Capital) to the BBC World Service from 2005-06 to 2009-10 as published in the Spring Supplementary Estimates for each year. Actual spend each year may differ from these figures and is available in the Departmental Resource Accounts available on the FCO website and in the Library of the House.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 239,143,000 
			 2006-07 239,543,000 
			 2007-08 255,043,000 
			 2008-09 265,043,000 
			 2009-10 272,043,000 
		
	
	 (e) The BBC World Service Trust is an independent charity funded by external grants and voluntary contributions. The FCO makes no specific allocation to it each year but may fund individual projects on an ad-hoc basis.
	 (f) The FCO makes no allocations to the "Special Reserve" which is part of the Treasury Reserve.
	 (g) The following table shows the final FCO allocations (including capital) to the British Council from 2005-06 to 2009-10 as published in the Spring Supplementary Estimates for each year. Actual spend each year may differ from these figures and is available in the Departmental Resource Accounts available on the FCO website and in the Library of the House.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 189,210,000 
			 2006-07 188,124,000 
			 2007-08 194,162,000 
			 2008-09 202,663,000 
			 2009-10 200,763,000 
		
	
	 (h) There is no Security and Intelligence Fund. However, there is a Single Intelligence Account to which the FCO makes no allocation.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the EU3+3 strategy in respect of Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Alistair Burt: When my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met with E3+3 counterparts in September, they reaffirmed determination and commitment to seek an early negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. We assess that the E3+3's twin-track strategy of pressure and an offer to negotiate an agreement is having an impact on Iranian decision-makers. We believe it is essential that Iran come to the table; and match our good faith. If it does not the pressure, in the form of sanctions, will increase.

Philippines: Foreign Relations

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the state of UK relations with the Philippines government; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The UK enjoys excellent relations with the Philippines. I visited Manila in July this year, where I met with newly elected President Aquino, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Members of the Cabinet.
	The UK is the largest EU source of foreign investment into the Philippines. We have been actively involved in efforts to bring about a lasting peace in Mindanao in the southern Philippines through our membership of an International Contact Group assisting the peace negotiations. In addition, the UK-based Filipino community of over 250,000 makes a hugely valuable contribution to the UK, particularly in the health and care sectors.

Trade Unions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has paid to trade unions in each year since 1997; and what estimate he has made of the monetary value of facilities provided by his Department for use by trade unions in each year since 1997.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not make any payments to trade unions in the UK. Members of staff who belong to any trade union pay their own subscriptions which are either deducted from their salaries and paid to the relevant union or paid directly by the staff in the form of direct debits.
	The FCO provides office facilities to its union representatives and meets day-to-day running costs within the rules of public expenditure set out in FCO guidance. An accurate estimate of the monetary value of facilities provided since 1997 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Back Pain: Medical Treatments

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in  (a) North Yorkshire,  (b) Darlington and  (c) Cambridgeshire have received facet joint injections in the last 12 months.

Paul Burstow: The following table provides a count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) where there was a main or secondary procedure or intervention of V54.4-injection around spinal facet of spine, at North Yorkshire and York, Darlington, and Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) of residence for 2008-09.
	
		
			  Activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  PCT of residence  FCEs 
			 Darlington PCT 182 
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT 1,019 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 551 
			  Notes: 1. A FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. The figures represent admitted patient care only. 2. Number of episodes with a (named) main or secondary procedure: The number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and four prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one procedure field of the record. More procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure. For example, patients under going a 'cataract operation' would tend to have at least two procedures-removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one-counted in a single episode. 3. HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 national health service trusts and PCTs in England, and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the Information Centre for health and social care

Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients aged  (a) 49 years and under,  (b) 50 to 59 years,  (c) 60 to 69 years,  (d) 70 to 79 years and  (e) over 80 years were diagnosed with each type of cancer through the two-week referral pathway in (i) each cancer network, (ii) each primary care trust and (iii) England in each year since that pathway was established.

Paul Burstow: Any patient urgently referred for suspected cancer by their general practitioner (GP) will be subject to the two week wait guarantee. Of these patients, any individual subsequently diagnosed with, and treated for, cancer in the English national health service should receive that treatment within 62 days. Statistics detailing the specific diagnoses or ages of these patients are not published due to the small numbers involved and the risk of disclosure of confidential information about patients.
	In the most recent period for which statistics are available (Quarter 1 2010-11), 25,590 patients were treated for cancer following an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer.
	These data were first published at an all cancer, all ages level by primary care trust (PCT) for the year 2009-10. Statistics for this period show that 97,166 patients from English PCTs were subsequently diagnosed with cancer and treated in the English NHS following an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer. A full breakdown of these data by PCT has been provided as follows and may also be found on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/Performancedataandstatistics/HospitalWaitingTimesandListStatistics/CancerWaitingTimes/DH_119716
	Data are not published on a cancer network basis, these statistics are shown on either a PCT (commissioner) basis in annual datasets or on a trust (provider) basis quarterly. These organisations are the constituent parts of cancer networks.
	
		
			  Primary care trust  Number of people receiving first treatment for cancer after urgent GP referral for suspected cancer 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 453 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 295 
			 Barnet PCT 451 
			 Barnsley PCT 428 
			 Bassetlaw PCT 195 
			 Bath and North East Somerset PCT 295 
			 Bedfordshire PCT 773 
			 Berkshire East PCT 436 
			 Berkshire West PCT 801 
			 Bexley Care Trust 419 
			 Birmingham East and North PCT 668 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT 244 
			 Blackpool PCT 407 
			 Bolton PCT 442 
			 Bournemouth and Poole Teaching PCT 666 
			 Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT 849 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 266 
			 Brighton and Hove City PCT 350 
			 Bristol PCT 789 
			 Bromley PCT 400 
			 Buckinghamshire PCT 883 
			 Bury PCT 345 
			 Calderdale PCT 354 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 1,457 
			 Camden PCT 251 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 781 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 881 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 253 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 1,711 
			 County Durham PCT 1,003 
			 Coventry Teaching PCT 573 
			 Croydon PCT 424 
			 Cumbria Teaching PCT 1,156 
			 Darlington PCT 208 
			 Derby City PCT 501 
			 Derbyshire County PCT 1,520 
			 Devon PCT 2,017 
			 Doncaster PCT 710 
			 Dorset PCT 989 
			 Dudley PCT 732 
			 Ealing PCT 287 
			 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 926 
			 East Lancashire Teaching PCT 759 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire PCT 823 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 854 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 1,784 
			 Enfield PCT 405 
			 Gateshead PCT 499 
			 Gloucestershire PCT 1,154 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 549 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 365 
			 Halton and St Helens PCT 476 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 115 
			 Hampshire PCT 2,642 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 208 
			 Harrow PCT 307 
			 Hartlepool PCT 188 
			 Hastings and Rother PCT 512 
			 Havering PCT 558 
			 Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT 205 
			 Herefordshire PCT 430 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 346 
			 Hillingdon PCT 263 
			 Hounslow PCT 180 
			 Hull Teaching PCT 511 
			 Isle of Wight NHS PCT 311 
			 Islington PCT 214 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 144 
			 Kingston PCT 223 
			 Kirklees PCT 640 
			 Knowsley PCT 258 
			 Lambeth PCT 317 
			 Leeds PCT 1,406 
			 Leicester City PCT 389 
			 Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 1,208 
			 Lewisham PCT 332 
			 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 1,963 
			 Liverpool PCT 904 
			 Luton PCT 218 
			 Manchester PCT 592 
			 Medway PCT 276 
			 Mid Essex PCT 621 
			 Middlesbrough PCT 291 
			 Milton Keynes PCT 336 
			 Newcastle PCT 528 
			 Newham PCT 160 
			 Norfolk PCT 1,827 
			 North East Essex PCT 613 
			 North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus 343 
			 North Lancashire Teaching PCT 924 
			 North Lincolnshire PCT 370 
			 North Somerset PCT 472 
			 North Staffordshire PCT 494 
			 North Tyneside PCT 442 
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT 1,750 
			 Northamptonshire Teaching PCT 1,295 
			 Northumberland Care Trust 686 
			 Nottingham City PCT 561 
			 Nottinghamshire County Teaching PCT 1,672 
			 Oldham PCT 348 
			 Oxfordshire PCT 1,265 
			 Peterborough PCT 275 
			 Plymouth Teaching PCT 769 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching PCT 422 
			 Redbridge PCT 348 
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 354 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 196 
			 Rotherham PCT 384 
			 Salford PCT 428 
			 Sandwell PCT 517 
			 Sefton PCT 646 
			 Sheffield PCT 1,048 
			 Shropshire County PCT 506 
			 Solihull Care Trust 393 
			 Somerset PCT 1,489 
			 South Birmingham PCT 574 
			 South East Essex PCT 603 
			 South Gloucestershire PCT 455 
			 South Staffordshire PCT 1,246 
			 South Tyneside PCT 341 
			 South West Essex PCT 548 
			 Southampton City PCT 438 
			 Southwark PCT 255 
			 Stockport PCT 516 
			 Stockton-on-Tees Teaching PCT 447 
			 Stoke on Trent PCT 672 
			 Suffolk PCT 1,395 
			 Sunderland Teaching PCT 608 
			 Surrey PCT 1,834 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 511 
			 Swindon PCT 321 
			 Tameside and Glossop PCT 434 
			 Telford and Wrekin PCT 216 
			 Torbay Care Trust 414 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 288 
			 Trafford PCT 362 
			 Wakefield District PCT 781 
			 Walsall Teaching PCT 380 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 229 
			 Wandsworth PCT 276 
			 Warrington PCT 305 
			 Warwickshire PCT 1,081 
			 West Essex PCT 425 
			 West Hertfordshire PCT 768 
			 West Kent PCT 1,157 
			 West Sussex PCT 1,625 
			 Western Cheshire PCT 614 
			 Westminster PCT 149 
			 Wiltshire PCT 806 
			 Wirral PCT 692 
			 Wolverhampton City PCT 484 
			 Worcestershire PCT 1,026 
			   
			 England 97,166 
			  Notes:  1. The NHS cancer plan all cancer 62-day referral to treatment standard dataset includes those patients separately identified in the 31-day referral to treatment standard for rare cancers.  2. Data are for all cancers, which refers to any case of diagnosed cancer regardless of cancer type.   Source:  Commissioner Based Cancer Waiting times April 2009 to March 2010 (England only).

Cancer: Drugs

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effect of his proposed cancer drugs fund on patients with gastric cancer.

Simon Burns: We have made no such assessment. Along with the additional funding for cancer drugs in England already in place, the Cancer Drugs Fund will, from April 2011, provide cancer patients in England with greater access to the clinically effective drugs their doctors think will help extend or improve their quality of life.

Disability

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to respond to the report by Professor Jim Mansell on Raising our sights: services for adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he plans to respond to Professor Jim Mansell's report on Raising our sights: services for adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the recommendations made in Professor Jim Mansell's report on Raising our sights: services for adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities;
	(3)  when he plans to respond to the recommendations of the report Raising our sights: services for adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to respond to the report commissioned by his Department on Raising our sights: services for adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities.

Paul Burstow: We expect to give a formal departmental response by the end of the year.
	Departmental officials are currently examining the detailed recommendations set out in the report and how these support our objectives to improve outcomes for people with learning disabilities who have complex needs and their families. The elements of good service and good practice examples included in this report sit very clearly within the programme of work which Government are leading to support independent living for people with learning disabilities and to support local service planning and commissioning to meet identified needs in their locality.

Health Services: Cooperatives

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy to support local authorities in developing mutual organisations for social care direct payments;
	(2)  if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that all service users and carers have access to a local direct payments mutual organisations.

Paul Burstow: The Government's vision for adult social care, to be published in November 2010, will set out an enhanced role for the voluntary and community sector in providing services.
	The Government recognise that, in order for a person to live a fulfilling and independent life, they must be able to control the care and support they need.
	Personalisation is key to achieving this, and we want to see an increase in the number of people in receipt of personal budgets.
	Mutual organisations have a vital role to play in supporting people to make use of personal budgets.

Psychiatry: Regulation

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the regulation of counselling and psychotherapy in respect of an  (a) basic standard of training and  (b) compulsory code of conduct.

Anne Milton: Since May, the Department has received at least 216 pieces of correspondence regarding the regulation of psychotherapists and counsellors by the Health Professions Council. It is unclear how many of these pieces of correspondence may have been written about basic standards of training or compulsory code of conduct.

Animal Welfare

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were carried out in Wales in 2009;
	(2)  how many procedures carried out on animals in Wales under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 involved  (a) New World primates and  (b) Old World primates in 2009; and what the primary purpose of those procedures were;
	(3)  what the  (a) primary purpose and  (b) field of research was of each procedure carried out on animals in Wales under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 involving (i) fish, (ii) pigs and (iii) genetically modified animals in 2009; and for what reason there was an increase in the number of procedures carried out on (A) fish, (B) pigs and (C) genetically-modified animals in Wales in 2009 compared to the previous year;
	(4)  what proportion of procedures regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 carried out in Wales were conducted without anaesthesia in 2009;
	(5)  how many  (a) mice,  (b) rats,  (c) guinea pigs,  (d) hamsters,  (e) rabbits,  (f) horses and other equids,  (g) sheep,  (h) pigs,  (i) birds,  (j) amphibians,  (k) reptiles,  ( l ) fish,  (m) cats,  (n) dogs,  (o) New World primates and  (p) Old World primates were used in procedures conducted in Wales and regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in 2009;
	(6)  how many individual animals were used in procedures regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Wales in 2009;
	(7)  how many regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 conducted in Wales involved  (a) cats,  (b) dogs,  (c) rabbits,  (d) horses and other equids,  (e) New World primates and  (f) Old World primates which (i) were genetically modified and (ii) had a harmful genetic defect in 2009;
	(8)  what proportion of regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 conducted in Wales were carried out for  (a) fundamental and applied studies other than toxicology and  (b) toxicity tests or other safety and efficacy evaluation in 2009;
	(9)  what proportion of regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 conducted in Wales were performed in  (a) public health laboratories,  (b) universities and medical schools,  (c) NHS hospitals,  (d) Government departments,  (e) other public bodies,  (f) non-profit making organisations and  (g) commercial organisations in 2009;
	(10)  how many  (a) genetically modified animals and  (b) animals with a harmful genetic defect were used in regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 conducted in Wales in 2009.

Lynne Featherstone: You have tabled 10 questions regarding the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals for Wales in 2009. While figures for Great Britain are published annually, the latest being on 27 July 2010, it would take significant work to run the systems specifically to obtain data for Wales and then to check that none of the data was disclosive or breached any confidentiality guarantees given to respondents. For this reason, I will write to you separately when we have had sufficient time to compile and check the information you requested. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Animal Welfare: Licences

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many project licences for work in Wales were granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in 2009; and how many such licences were in force at the end of 2009.

Lynne Featherstone: During 2009 13 project licences were granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Wales. On 31 December 2009 there were 76 project licences in force in Wales.

Immigration

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals who at the time of their application for indefinite leave to remain in the UK were resident in the Peterborough City Council area were granted such leave in the latest period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is unable to provide definitive data on the applicants address at the time of application. The information provided is therefore the applicants last known address.
	The following table lists applications made for indefinite leave from April 2009 to March 2010 for applicants living in the Peterborough city council area . It also shows the number of these applicants that were subsequently granted.
	
		
			  Number 
			   Applications made  Applications granted 
			  2009   
			 April 31 29 
			 May 35 30 
			 June 56 52 
			 July 60 52 
			 August 49 44 
			 September 55 48 
			 October 23 18 
			 November 28 27 
			 December 45 42 
			
			  2010   
			 January 66 57 
			 February 42 34 
			 March 65 56 
			 Total 555 489 
			  Note: This is internal management information and is subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

Rape: Finance

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding her Department provided to sexual abuse and rape counselling services in  (a) England and  (b) Wales in the latest period for which figures are available; and on what date each such payment was made.

Lynne Featherstone: The coalition has committed to giving rape crisis centres stable, long-term funding-and to build new centres where they are needed.
	 Funding provided to sexual abuse and rape counselling services in England
	The Department of Health and the Home Office Ministers have agreed to provide £3.2 million to improve Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) service provision for victims of sexual assault for 2010-11. The first resource payments are being administered through the Department of Health and grant agreements for capital funding have been issued by the Home Office. First payments of capital funding will be made in October.
	43 independent sexual violence adviser (ISVA) posts have been part funded in England by the Home Office in 2010-11. A total of £860,000 was allocated for this purpose in July 2010.
	The Home office has also made £150,000 available to third sector organisations to support their work with the specialist sector. £75,000 was paid to Rape Crisis in September 2010 and a payment will shortly be made to the Survivors Trust.
	 Funding provided to sexual abuse and rape counselling services in Wales
	he Home Office has allocated £55,293 in total for Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) in Wales in the financial year 2010-1. This consists of £25,520 resource and £29,773 capital for SARC funding. The Home Office is due to make this payment later in October.

Overseas Aid

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what mechanisms he has put in place to provide for contributions to be made to international agencies by his Department whilst its multilateral aid review is ongoing.

Andrew Mitchell: The outcome of the Multilateral Aid Review will be published early next year. Interim decisions on funding for multilateral partners need to balance the requirements to minimise disruption to the work of our partners and ensure consistency with the results of the review. My Department is in contact with our partner institutions to discuss whether financing decisions can be delayed for a short period without adversely affecting their work on the ground. Where this is not possible, or where a delay in an announcement of UK funding may delay negotiations with other donors, I will make an earlier decision, informed by the evidence and analysis already gathered during the review.

Devolution: Scotland

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with CBI  (a) Scotland and  (b) UK on the effects on PAYE schemes administered from England and Wales of the implementation of the recommendations of the Calman Commission.

Michael Moore: I have frequent discussions with representatives from CBI Scotland on a range of issues. The Director of CBI Scotland was one of the Caiman Commissioners and CBI Scotland are now represented on the Implementation Group referred to in the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury's answer to written question 16400 on 11 October 2010,  Official Report, column 235. When this group first met, both the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and I invited all participants to liaise closely with the Government as the work to implement the recommendations of the Caiman Commission progresses.

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on ensuring continued access to bus services for rural communities.

Norman Baker: It is local authorities that are best placed to ensure that rural communities are able to access jobs and essential services-by bus, flexible services such as dial-a-ride, or by bringing services directly to the door. They have a statutory duty to produce local transport plans, which we believe remain the best way for authorities to plan transport strategy and delivery.
	In areas where frequent public transport services are not commercially viable, the voluntary and community sector have a large role to play in delivering long-term sustainable alternatives. The Government are committed to supporting partnership working between local authorities, commercial providers and the voluntary sector that delivers tailor made local services.
	Rather than prescribing one method from Whitehall, we will therefore provide greater funding freedoms and flexibilities at a local level. As part of this approach, the Government recently announced a Local Sustainable Transport Fund which will support local transport and encourage more sustainable travel solutions based on local need.

Humber Bridge

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much interest has been charged on the original loan to build the Humber Bridge since it was taken out.

Norman Baker: The Humber Bridge Board has paid a net amount of £247 million in interest between 1981-82 to 2009-10. A total of £502 million has been paid in interest, less £255 million which was paid by Government in grants between 1991-92 to 1997-98, to enable the interest to be paid.

Railways: Birmingham

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons his Department has not published an environmental impact assessment for the proposed London to Birmingham High Speed 2 route through the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Hammond: Subject to the outcome of public consultation, the necessary powers to construct any new high speed rail line would be sought through a hybrid Bill. It would be as part of the hybrid Bill process that an Environmental Impact Assessment would be produced to satisfy the requirements of the EU's Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.
	However, a full Appraisal of Sustainability will be published in order to inform public consultation prior to the forthcoming consultation on proposals for a high speed line between London and the West Midlands. This will set out the environmental and local impacts of that route, including those in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Roads Schemes

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether local authorities are entitled to reclaim from Government money spent on the planning process for road schemes cancelled by his Department.

Norman Baker: The Secretary of State suspended the previous guidance on local authority major schemes on 10 June 2010. The written ministerial statement of 10 June 2010,  Official Report, column 35WS, that announced this made it clear that the Department for Transport does not accept any liability for development or preparatory costs incurred to date or which may be incurred going forward while funding remains uncertain.
	The Department will announce new arrangements for local authority major schemes as soon as possible following the conclusion of the spending review.

Roads: Telephones

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the roll-out of emergency roadside telephones with T-loop and text facilities for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Michael Penning: The roll-out of emergency roadside telephones with T-loop and text facilities is 80% complete. It is anticipated that the installation programme will be completed in June 2011. All new and old versions of the emergency roadside telephones have T-loop facility.

Severn Bridges Tolls

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made a recent assessment of the effects on the economy of Wales of the Severn Bridges tolls.

Michael Penning: There has been no recent assessment of the effects on the economy of Wales of the Severn Bridges' tolls. However both the Welsh Affairs Committee and the Welsh Assembly Government are undertaking separate reviews of the effects of the Severn Bridges' tolls on the economy of Wales. Both are due to report back with their findings next year. I will consider the findings of these reports.

Credit: Interest Rates

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the variation between the interest rates offered by loan and credit companies, with particular reference to those offered to applicants with poor credit histories;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received on the  (a) regulation of and  (b) variation in interest rates offered by loan and credit companies.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are keen to encourage responsible lending and borrowing on fair terms. I have held discussions with ministerial colleagues and received informal representations from both lenders and consumer groups on a range of consumer credit issues, including the interest rates charged by lenders.
	In July I announced a joint BIS HM Treasury review of consumer credit and personal insolvency. The Government believe that this is the right time for a properly targeted review of certain aspects of the credit and debt market, including high cost credit and the levels of interest rates charged for credit and store cards. BIS has just published a call for evidence that seeks to help us better understand the key issues and ensure we are concentrating the review on the priorities for consumers and lenders.

Financial Services: EU Action

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what negotiating position his Department adopted in discussions on the EU framework for financial supervision agreed in the Council of Ministers; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The new European framework has the potential to fundamentally improve the quality and consistency of supervision, ensure more effective rulemaking with the framework provided by directives and enforcement, and better identify risks in the financial system.
	The framework ensures that day-to-day supervision of financial institutions will remain at the national level and establishes that the new European Supervisory Authorities cannot take decisions that impinge on member states' fiscal responsibilities. It also ensures that the new authorities have requirements for high standards of governance, transparency and accountability.
	The Government support the new framework and welcome the decision to base the European Banking authority in London, recognising the UK's importance as Europe's global financial centre.

International Assistance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to lay before Parliament his Department's next report on Government activity at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Mark Hoban: The Government are fully committed to transparency and accountability with regard to their activities at the international financial institutions. The Treasure is reviewing options for reporting on the UK's relationship with International Monetary Fund (IMF), and how best to engage Parliament in further debate on the UK's role within the IMF. The Secretary of State for Development is the UK's Governor to the World Bank and is therefore responsible for reporting on the UK's activities at the World Bank.

Disability Living Allowance: Medical Examinations

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what organisations he will consult on the development of the new medical assessment for eligibility for the disability living allowance; what the dates will be of the consultation; and when decisions will be announced.

Maria Miller: We recognise the importance of involving disabled people and their representatives, as well as healthcare and other professionals with relevant expertise, in the design of the new assessment for disability living allowance. To ensure that all organisations and individuals with an interest in this area have the opportunity to contribute their views we will hold a public consultation on the new assessment in autumn this year.
	In addition to this broader consultation process, a disability living allowance assessment development group comprising of disabled people and relevant health professionals and others with expertise in this area has been created to advise on the development of the new assessment.

Future Jobs Fund: Kilmarnock

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which organisations with registered business premises in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency have been approved to provide employment under the Future Jobs Fund.

Chris Grayling: The Department does not hold records of all of the organisations that are providing employment through the Future Jobs Fund. Details of Lead Accountable Bodies who have been successful in receiving FJF awards are available here:
	http://campaigns.dwp.gov.uk/campaigns/futurejobsfund/index.asp

Future Jobs Fund: West Lothian

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents of the West Lothian Council area aged  (a) 18 to 24 years and  (b) over 24 years who had been out of work and claiming jobseeker's allowance for more than six months have found employment through the Future Jobs Fund since the Fund was established.

Chris Grayling: The Young Person's Guarantee statistics were published on 11 August 2010 and are available here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?paqe=ypg
	Statistics are available on the Future Jobs Fund which covers the period from October 2009 to May 2010. They show that there were 4,460 recorded Future Jobs Fund starts in the Scotland region. The information requested for West Lothian is not available.

Pensioners: Kilmarnock

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of pensioners in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who  (a) receive the basic state pension,  (b) receive pension credit and  (c) are eligible for pension credit but do not claim it.

Steve Webb: The document "Caseloads for selected benefits by 2010 Parliamentary Constituencies February 2010" is available in the Library and includes figures for pension credit and state pension.
	Estimates of eligibility and therefore those who are entitled to pension credit but have not claimed it are not available below the level of Great Britain.
	The latest estimates of the take-up rates and the number of those entitled but not receiving pension credit are published in the report "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2008-09" which can be accessed via the following link:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=irb